In 2020, about 64 percent of Finns claimed that their time spent on playing digital and non-digital games remained unchanged compared to the time before the coronavirus pandemic. Three percent clearly increased their time spent playing non-digital games and five percent playing digital games. Only four percent of respondents reduced the time spent on playing non-digital games and two percent reduced their digital gaming.

For further information about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in Finland, please visit our dedicated COVID-19 in Finland page.

The survey examined the perceptions of well-being, well-being work, and working conditions in comprehensive schools in Central Finland during the exceptional circumstances caused by the coronavirus during the distance teaching and learning period (March 18 - May 13, 2020). It is a continuation of the FSD3611 Well-being Work and Personnel Well-being in Schools in Central Finland 2020 data. The survey was conducted as part of the Yhteistyöllä hyvinvointia kouluyhteisöön project, which is part of the Central Finland Health and Wellbeing Ecosystem (KeHO) network. The dataset also contains the open-ended responses. First, the respondents' various concerns related to the school, pupils, and staff were surveyed. In addition, several questions were asked about the respondents' working conditions, coping, and well-being. Some of the statements were also presented in the FSD3611 data. The scales and inventories used in the data include e.g. the BBI-9 (Bergen Burnout Inventory) and the UWES-3 (Ultra-Short Measure for Work Engagement). For more information on the construction of the questionnaire, see the section Related Materials. Background variables included the respondent's gender, work role, work experience, job description during the distance education period, and school type.

The use of digital services for music streaming increased in Finland during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in April 2020 compared to the pre-coronavirus period. The share of Finnish respondents using Spotify and Facebook for music streaming increased by five percent in April according to the digital music survey. Furthermore, Youtube and Instagram was used slightly more frequently for music streaming during the coronavirus lockdown.

According to a digital music survey from 2020, the average daily time spent on music streaming in Finland slightly increased during the coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown. Spotify and YouTube Music users increased their music listening time the most during April 2020.

Based on a comparison of coronavirus deaths in 210 countries relative to their population, Peru had the most losses to COVID-19 up until July 13, 2022. As of the same date, the virus had infected over 557.8 million people worldwide, and the number of deaths had totaled more than 6.3 million. Note, however, that COVID-19 test rates can vary per country. Additionally, big differences show up between countries when combining the number of deaths against confirmed COVID-19 cases. The source seemingly does not differentiate between "the Wuhan strain" (2019-nCOV) of COVID-19, "the Kent mutation" (B.1.1.7) that appeared in the UK in late 2020, the 2021 Delta variant (B.1.617.2) from India or the Omicron variant (B.1.1.529) from South Africa.

The difficulties of death figures

This table aims to provide a complete picture on the topic, but it very much relies on data that has become more difficult to compare. As the coronavirus pandemic developed across the world, countries already used different methods to count fatalities, and they sometimes changed them during the course of the pandemic. On April 16, for example, the Chinese city of Wuhan added a 50 percent increase in their death figures to account for community deaths. These deaths occurred outside of hospitals and went unaccounted for so far. The state of New York did something similar two days before, revising their figures with 3,700 new deaths as they started to include “assumed” coronavirus victims. The United Kingdom started counting deaths in care homes and private households on April 29, adjusting their number with about 5,000 new deaths (which were corrected lowered again by the same amount on August 18). This makes an already difficult comparison even more difficult. Belgium, for example, counts suspected coronavirus deaths in their figures, whereas other countries have not done that (yet). This means two things. First, it could have a big impact on both current as well as future figures. On April 16 already, UK health experts stated that if their numbers were corrected for community deaths like in Wuhan, the UK number would change from 205 to “above 300”. This is exactly what happened two weeks later. Second, it is difficult to pinpoint exactly which countries already have “revised” numbers (like Belgium, Wuhan or New York) and which ones do not. One work-around could be to look at (freely accessible) timelines that track the reported daily increase of deaths in certain countries. Several of these are available on our platform, such as for Belgium, Italy and Sweden. A sudden large increase might be an indicator that the domestic sources changed their methodology.

Where are these numbers coming from?

The numbers shown here were collected by Johns Hopkins University, a source that manually checks the data with domestic health authorities. For the majority of countries, this is from national authorities. In some cases, like China, the United States, Canada or Australia, city reports or other various state authorities were consulted. In this statistic, these separately reported numbers were put together. For more information or other freely accessible content, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.

Revenue is forecast to contract at a compound annual rate of 4.7% over the five years through 2024. COVID-19 caused significant disruption to the construction sector, the industry’s largest market, resulting in weaker demand for aggregates and materials used in the production of construction inputs. Although activity has since risen in line with the easing of lockdown restrictions, poor economic conditions have stifled any significant recovery, continuing to weigh on the industry’s revenue performance. In 2024, revenue is expected to tumble by 3.5% to €43.7 billion. Pandemic-induced supply chain disruptions were worsened by disruption caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, contributing to significant inflationary pressures. In response to rampant inflation, central banks have made retaliatory hikes to the base rate of interest, though this has increased the cost of borrowing for consumers and businesses, hurting activity in the housebuilding and commercial construction markets. This has weighed on demand for quarried materials and reduced revenue prospects for quarry operators. Over the five through 2029, revenue is forecast to grow at a compound annual rate of 2.6%, to €49.6 billion. Economic conditions are likely to remain fairly weak in the short to medium term as inflation remains above the universal 2% target. The elevated rate of inflation will ensure central banks delay any reductions in the base rate, keeping the cost of borrowing high for would-be home buyers. Weaker demand for houses will contribute to weak price performance and disincentivise developers from increasing production, weighing on activity levels in the construction sector.

Semi-structured interviews collected among over 64 year old Russian speakers in Finland on their experiences during the COVID-19 lockdown

Credit card payments in Finland grew by nearly 30 million transactions in 2020, accelerating a drive to cashless in the country. This increasing use of credit cards in the country is in stark contrast to developments elsewhere. The credit card transactions per capita in Denmark, for example, declined during this time - presumably as consumers did not want to build up credit card debt during COVID-19 lockdown. Finland stands out in Europe for its relatively high number of credit cards within overall payment cards in circulation.

The COVID-19 pandemic has inflicted substantial financial hardships on physical bookstores in Europe due to store closures amid lockdown periods. As a result, brick-and-mortar outlets, particularly in France and Italy, have seen significant revenue drops. In contrast, online retailers like Amazon have enjoyed a hike in sales because of their attractive price deals and affordable delivery options. Physical bookshops are adopting modern strategies such as click-and-collect services and home delivery of books to keep up with competitors. Meanwhile, traditional print book sales are dwindling across Europe, with e-books and audiobooks gaining momentum. Industry revenue is forecast to slump at a compound annual rate of 5.0% over the five years through 2024 to €15.8 billion, including a projected drop of 3.3% in 2024, when the average industry profit margin is expected to reach 6.6%.

To rival the convenience offered by digital competitors, large-scale bookstore chains are enhancing customer experiences within their stores. UK retailers, like Waterstones, customise their stock to mirror local tastes and host in-store coffee shops and book clubs. Additionally, several bookstores have introduced value-added services like post office facilities, thus transforming into a one-stop shop, driving up overall customer spending within their establishments.

Industry revenue is forecast to drop at a compound annual rate of 2.5% over the five years through 2029 to reach €17.9 billion. In the face of ongoing inflationary pressures, European book and stationery retailers grapple with declining revenue. Consumers are cutting back on discretionary spending, avoiding splashing on things like books and subsequently straining these sectors. Yet, there are some silver linings for German retailers. These businesses are combatting declining revenue by diversifying product ranges to include gifts and non-book items like stationery to attract customers. For many European countries, however, reaching pre-pandemic performance levels isn't expected until 2025 or even 2026, creating a challenging five-year outlook for these industries.

As of January 13, 2023, Bulgaria had the highest rate of COVID-19 deaths among its population in Europe at 548.6 deaths per 100,000 population. Hungary had recorded 496.4 deaths from COVID-19 per 100,000. Furthermore, Russia had the highest number of confirmed COVID-19 deaths in Europe, at over 394 thousand.

Number of cases in Europe During the same period, across the whole of Europe, there have been over 270 million confirmed cases of COVID-19. France has been Europe's worst affected country with around 38.3 million cases, this translates to an incidence rate of approximately 58,945 cases per 100,000 population. Germany and Italy had approximately 37.6 million and 25.3 million cases respectively.

Current situation In March 2023, the rate of cases in Austria over the last seven days was 224 per 100,000 which was the highest in Europe. Luxembourg and Slovenia both followed with seven day rates of infections at 122 and 108 respectively.

The instability, rapid changes, and restrictions generated by the COVID-19 pandemic tested the provision of school meals in the Baltic Sea Region (BSR). School meal services were affected by factors such as full or partial lockdowns, strict hygiene regimes, lay-offs or staff shortages, stressful working environments, supply shortages, and changes to storing, cooking, and serving models. However, the responses to the COVID-19 crisis were highlighted by innovation, new opportunities, and cooperation. This paper reviews several examples of COVID-19 crisis management at school canteens in five BSR countries [Estonia, Finland, Poland, Russia (Saint Petersburg), and Sweden] between March 2020 and March 2021. The paper reveals the significant operational, logistical, and systemic problems that appeared because of the pandemic; the solutions and adaptations that were developed are also identified. The preparatory processes, logistics, and services that were adapted during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a new school meal provision model—a takeaway model; that includes similar features and unique characteristics across the different countries. Overall, the provision of school meals was carried out successfully in the BSR during the pandemic. Responsible, competent, and innovative professionals used their organizational skills, flexibility, and responsiveness to feed school pupils in a highly restricted and rapidly changing environment. It is expected that several of the COVID-19-driven innovations will remain in use following the pandemic.